Chocolate-coating machine and the like.



A. PAGLIUCA. CHOCOLATE COATING MACHINE AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FlL ED DEC. 4, l9]?- Patented Apr. 29, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

'LSQQDQUSO A. PAGLIUCA.

CHOCOLATE COATING MACHINE AND THE APPLICATION FiLED DEC-4, 1911.

mm m

LIKE.

Parmrtod Apr. 29, 1919 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- T TUE UNITED STATES PATENT @FFTGE.

ANTONIO PAGLIUCA, or lnos'ron', ninssncnnsn'rrs, ASSIGNOR, Br Mnsnn ASSIGN- Mnn'rs, 'ro nnrronnr. non'irntnnr COMPANY, or srnrnerinnn, m-nssncnusnrrs,

ACORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

,CHUCOTLETE-QUATING MACHINE AND THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent. I

Patented Apr. 29, 1919.

Application filed. December 4, 1917. Serial no. 205,423.

To all whom it may concern:

lBe it known that T, ANTONIO .lPAGLIUcA,

a citizen of the 'United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and use plied to the goods and the goods then passed from one movlng part or co-nveyer to another while the coating upon'them is still soft.

A. difficulty encountered in machines of this kind resides in" the fact that when the goods pass from one conveyer to another there is a tendency for the coating to be drawn out or pulled away from the rear side or edge ofthe chocolate adjacent its bottom "inate.

edge. This leaves a tail, so called, which is disfiguring and which it is desirable to elim- The probable reason for the formation of this tail is the tendency of the coat ing, which is more or less viscous,"to cling to the end of the conveyer ofl which the chocolate is moving and accordingly be drawn out as the chocolate passes onto the next conveyer and is carried forward by it. I The object of my invention is to eliminate these tails withouta-dding materially to the running expense of the machine, and also by a mechanism forming practically a running part of the machine.

My invention can best be seen and understood by reference to the drawings in which,

-for purposes of illustration, T have shown a portion of a well known chocolate-coating or enrober machineto which my invention is especially applicable, and in which- Figure 1 is a plan ofa portion of the ma chine showing associated therewith the improvement embodying my invention.

- Fig. 2 1s a section on the line 22 of Fig. 3 is an elevation of one side of a portion of the machine. v

Fig. 4: is an elevation of a portion of the opposite side of the machine.

Figs. 5, 6, 7 and S are sectional details illustrating the operation of the improvement,;as;will later be referred to.

Referring to the drawings 1 represents an endless conveyer or belt which carries the chocolates after the coating has been applied to them by appliances (not shown). This conveyer is in the nature of a wire screen which permits of excess coating dripping from the chocolates as they are borne, and operates to convey the chocolates to a conveyor belt 2 which constitutes a feed for the chocolates.

Both the conveyors 1 and 2 run between the sides 3 of the frame of the machine and are'arranged whereby the running top surfaces of the two conveyers will occupy substantially the same plane with a space 4 separating the forward end 5 of the conveyer 1 from the rear end 6 of the conveyor 2. Both conveyors are driven from a common source of power, arrangement "also being made whereby the speed of thec onveyers can be varied as occasion may require. In practice the conveyor 2 is driven more slowly than the conveyor 1.

TnFigs. 3 and 4 of the drawings there is illustrated diagrammatically and only in a general way, sufficient for the purposes of this case, the mode in which the conveyers are supported and the manner in which they are operated, The c'onveye'r 1 is supported by, and during the operation thereof renders around, a series of rolls and cross-supporting rods 8, 9, 10, 11, respectively, which are mounted on the frame of the machine. The conveyer 1 is operated by application of power to the roll 8.

The conveyer 2 is supported by, and during the operation thereof renders around, a roll ordrum l3 and also an end cross-supporting fixture 15, both roll and'fixture being mounted upon the frame of the machine.

The conveyor 2 is operated-by application v of power for turning the drum.

Power. is applied for operating the conveyers through an initial application of power to a shaft 16. .Speed-changing devices 1'7 and 18, respectively, are driven by this shaft through suitable connections. These speed-changing devices are of ordinary design and in practice consist of the usualcone pulleys and belt connections runmng between the same with means for changing the location of the belts thereon.

llltl The conveyer l is driven by the speedchanging device 17 through suitable connections 19 and which comprise in part a gear 20 arranged upon one end of a shaft 22 extending between the two sides of the frame of the machine and journaled to turn thereon. This shaft carries upon its oppositeend a spur gear 23 which meshes with a suitably-mounted idler gear 24, which is turn meshes with a gear 25 fixed to a shaft 26, which carries the roll 8, by which the conveyer 1 is operated. The conveyer 2 is operated by the speed-changing device 18 through suitable connections 28 for transmitting its power to a gear 29 arranged upon a shaft 30 carrying the drum 13 by which the conveyer 2 is operate Located within the space 4, between the adjacent ends of the conveyers and extendmg crosswise between the sides of the frame of the machine, is a roll 31 of substantially the same length as the width of the conveyers. This roll is preferably a steel roll and in size has preferably about the diameter of that shown. The roll is arranged upon a shaft 32 journaled to turn within the sides of the frame. The arrangement of the roll is also such that the extreme top surface 33 of the roll will be about flush with the carrying surfaces of the two conveyers and preferably a little below the same, as shown in Fig. 2.

The roll 31 is a driven roll, the same be:

111g driven to rotate in the same direction as the top running surfaces of the conveyers as indicated by the arrows thereon, and preferably at an appreciably faster speed than the conveyers.

The roll 31 is drivenfrom off the gear 20 (which forms a part of the connecting mechanism for operating the conveyer 1) through an idler gear 34 turning on a boss 35 fixed to the frame of the machine and engaging a gear 36 on the shaft 32 hearing the roll. The relative size of the gears is pref erably such that the roll 31 will be rotated at a speed appreciably faster than the speed of the conveyers. Intimately associated with the roll 31 is a means or device for cleaning the roll. Thls comprisesa strip of felt 38 held to engage the under side of the roll and wipe therefrom any chocolate or coating that may accumulate upon it. For holding the felt there are provided spaced pieces .39 and 40, respectively, interposed between the sides of the frame. of the machine and of which the piece 39 is secured to the sides of the frame in any suitable manner. The felt is held bound between the pieces by screws 41 which pass through the piece 40 and fasten to the piece 39, It will be observed that the screws pass through the piece 40 and fasten into the piece 39 below the strip of felt and that the arrangement of the In addition to the felt the cleansing of the roll is initially eflected by the piece 40, which is preferably a metal plate,'the upper edge 41 of which is brought into engagement with the surface of the roll and accordingly operates as a scraper in conjunction with the felt. As the roll is rotated any chocolate or coating that accumulates upon it will be wiped off and drop over the forward face of the piece 40 or through the space 42 adjacent this piece. To prevent any chocolate or coating being thrown forward against the conveyer 2- by the operation of the roll or during its cleansing, a guard 43 is preferably placed just forward of the roll and piece 40'which holds the strip of felt, this guard being so situated that the space 42 will be ample to allow the' chocolate or coating to drop through it as it is wiped off the roll. The guard 43 is fixed to and between the sides of the frame by a suitable mode of fastenlng. I y In connection with the operation of the device, attention is first called tothe representations of chocolates 45 borne by the respective conveyers, 46 representing the tails formed upon the chocolates as heretofore referred to.

Theoperation is as follows The chocolates orcoated goods are first borne by the conveyer l to pass therefrom over the roll 31 and onto the conveyer 2 to be fed forward by this conveyer as indidraws away from the end of the conveyer 1 a tail 46 will be formed upon it, as shown in Fig. 6. Upon the further movement of the chocolate the tail will break away from the end of the conveyer 1 and drop upon the upturning surface of the roll 31 as shown in Fig. 7. This surface is a clean surface inasmuch as any coating or accumulation has been wiped off the roll 31 by the cleansing device. Accordingly the tail will stick to the bare roll and by the subsequent rotation of the roll will be swept off the end of the chocolate and afterward removed from the roll by the cleansing device.

According to the operation just described no attention has been directed to the'matter of relative speed between the roll 31 and the conveyers and especially between the roll and the conveyer 2. While the roll 31 aoaaoe J:

scribed, but there will be a tendency for the chocolate as it is borne forwardby the conveyer 2 to pull away from the roll and accordingly show a slight disruption. however, the roll 31 be rotated materially faster than the conveyer 2 carrying the chocolate, the tail will be carried forward by the roll faster than the chocolate is mov ing on the conveyer 2 and accordingly will be carried or drawn by the roll into the body of the chocolate to a certain extent and also be borne around by the travel ofthe roll beneath therear bottom end of the chocolate and wiped off the roll by the cleansing device, leaving the chocolate with a smooth finished end. During the action. just described the ex cess speed of the roll 31 over the conve ers and especially the conveyer 2 will not aterially-afiect the movement of the chocolate or disturb the coating on the bottom of the chocolate, inasmuch as the roll lies below the coated 'bottom surface of the chocolate which' will be resting upon one or the other of the conveyers owing'to the narrowness of the space between them within which the roll 31 is contained.

The improvement constituting my inventioncan be applied to a coating machine at a relatively small cost and especially to an enrober machine to which the invention is particularly applicable inasmuch as the.

inherent operation of the machine assists in the functioning of the attachment or device. A further advantage of the device resides, also, in the fact that it forms .a part of the running mechanism of the machine and practically requires no extra power for operating it. p

. It will be understood of course that the in- 1 vention might be applied in other connec- .tions than that referred to and that considerable variation from that shown-might be employed in the means for practising it.

Having thus fullydescribed my invention,

I claim and desire to secure by Letters Pat.

ent of the United States 1- 1. An apparatus for eliminating disfiguring tails in coated confections or the like, comprising, twoconveying means located one forwardly of the other for the transfer of the confections from one to the other, while the coating on the confections is workable, and means independent of the conveying means and located between the adjacent ends of the conveying means to contact with and wipe ofi' the tails of the coated confections formed in leaving the rear conveying means. 5

' 2. An apparatus for eliminating disfiguring tails in chocolate coated goods or the like,'comprising, two conveyers one located forwardly of the other and arranged for the automatic transfer of the goods from one to the other while the coatingon the goods is workable, and means located between the adjacent ends of the conveyers to contact with and wipe off the tails of the coatings formed in leaving the rear conveyer by reworking such tails under the goods.

the other in substantial continuation thereof.

with a space separating the adjacent ends of the conveyers, means for operating said conveyers, and means for presenting a moving surface-in the space between said conveyers below the top running surfaces there of on which will be deposited and to which will adhere tails trailing from the cdated objects borne by said conveyers and during the passage thereof from one conveyer to the other.

4. An apparatus for eliminating disfiguring tails in coated confections or the like,

' comprising, two conveyers located one forwardly of the other and arranged for the transfer of the coated confectlons from one to the other while the coating of the con.

fections is workable, and means located between the adjacent ends of said conveyers and presenting a moving surface so located with respect to the confections and conveyers as to engage the tails of the coatings formed in leaving the rear conveyer and rework such tails under the confections.

5. In a machine of the type specified, the combination I comprising conveyers arranged one forward of the other in substantial continuation thereof with a space separating the adjacent ends of the conveyers, means for operating said conveyers, a device presenting a moving part in the space between said conveyers andupon which will be deposited andto which will adhere tails trailing from coated objects borne by the conveylltl ers during the passage of said objects from the adjacent ends 'of the conveyers, means for operating said conveyers, a device preto which will adhere tails trailing from coated objects borne by the conveyers during the 1 passage of said objects from one conveyer to the other, said device having in cooperation therewith means for keeping clean the tail-receiving part thereof, and means whereby said tail-receiving part will exert a wi ing action with relation to the coated 0 jects borne by the conveyers during the pas-- sagethereof as aforesaid.

7. In a machine of the type specified, the combination comprising conveyers arranged one forward of the other in substantial continuation thereof with a space separating the adjacent ends of said conveyers, means for operating said conveyers, a member presenting a surface in the space between said conveyers on which will be deposited and to which will adhere tails trailing from coated objects borne by said conveyers and during the passage of said objects from one conveyer to the other over said space, means whereby said member will operate to e'xecute a wipingaction with relation to said objects borne by said conveyors and during the passage thereof as aforesaid for elimimating said tails, and means whereby said tail-receivingsurface will be kept clean. 8. An apparatus for eliminating disfiguring' tails in coated confections or the like, comprising two conveyers arranged one forwardly of the other with a space between their adjacent ends and so located with respect to one another that the coated confections may be transferred directly from one to the other, and means in the character of a movable wiper so located in said space with respect to said conveyers as to contact .with and wipe 0d the tails of the coatings of the confections during their transfer from one conveyer to the other.

9. In a machine of the type specified, the combination comprising conveyers arranged one forward of the other in substantial continuation thereof with a space separatingthe adjacent ends of the conveyers, means for operating said conveyers, means for presenting a moving surface in the space be I tween said conveyers below the running surfaces thereof on which will be deposited and to which will adhere tails trailing from coated objects borne by said conveyers, said surface moving in a general direction to- Ward and away from the rear bottom ends of said coated objects the tails of whichhave been deposited upon said surface, and means whereby tails deposited upon said surface may be removed therefrom and said surface cleaned.

10. In a machine of the type specified, the combination comprising conveyers arranged one forward of the other in continuation thereof with a space separating the veyers, and means whereby said conveyersand interposed means may be operated and the moving surface of said interposed means have a speed greater than the speed of the forward one of said conveyers.

11. In a machine of the type specified, the combination comprising conveyers arranged one forward of the other in continuation thereof with a space separating the adjacent ends of said conveyers, an interposed means presenting a moving surface in the space between theends of said conveyers, means whereby said conveyers and interposed means may be operated and the moving surface of said interposed means have a speed greater than the speed of the forward one of said conveyers, andmeans for cleaning the moving surface of said interposed means.

12. In a machine of the type specified, the

combination comprising conveyers arranged one forward of the other in continuation thereof with a space separating the adjacent ends of said conveyers, an interposed means presenting a moving surface in the space between the ends of said conveyers, and means whereby said conveyers and interposed means may be operated and the moving surface of said interposed means may have a tween theends of said conveyers, means whereby said conveyers and interposed v means may be operated and the moving surface of said interposed means have a speed greater than the speed of said conveyers, and means 1 for cleaning the moving surface of said interposed means.

1a. In amachine of the type specified, the combination comprising conveyers arranged one forward of the other in continuation thereof with a space separating the adjacent ends of said conveyers, a roll arranged in the space between the ends of said conveyers, means. for operating said conveyers, meansfor operating said roll whereby the surface thereof will have a speed in excess of the running speed of said conveyers, and means for cleaning the surface of said roll.

15. In "a machine of the type specified, the combination comprising conveyers arranged one forward of the other in continuation thereof with a space separating the adjacent ends of said conveyers, a roll arranged in the space between the ends of said conveyers with the top surface of the roll lying beeoaaoe low the top running surfaces ofsaid conveyers, means for operatlng said conveyers,

means for operating said roll to turn in a general direction toward and away from the rear bottomedges of objects borne by said conveyers whereby it may exert a wiping action with relation thereto, and at a speed in excess of the running speed of the forward one of said conveyers, and means whereby the surface of said roll may be cleansed of matter deposited thereon.

16. An apparatus for eliminating disfiguring tails in coated confections or the like, comprising, two conveyers located one forthe other while the coating of the confections is workable, and a movable member between the adjacent,ends of said conveyers and so located with respect thereto as to contact with the tails only of the coated confec tions during their transfer from one conveyer to the other and to wipe ofi the tails from the coatings and convey them independently of the confections in a general direction toward and away from the rear bottom ends of the confections.

ANTQNIO PAGLIUCA. 

